HERE AND THERE: Arcadia Bluffs is adding another course, too Arcadia Bluffs and Forest Dunes have battled for the status of Michigan’s best public course for several years, so it should come as no surprise that construction of a second course will begin on Nov. 1 at Arcadia. And there’s no better place to begin another round of our “offseason” travel-related golf reports.
Forest Dunes, in ...

For starters, a new name is needed for the rejuvenated Oak Meadows course The course reconstruction is done, at least for this fall. Course architect Greg Martin has the new routing for what had been the Oak Meadows golf course in place, the turf is starting to grow in and the Wadsworth Construction equipment is departing the 288-acre property in Addison.
In short, the anticipation is growing – ...

Champions Tour golfer Jeff Sluman is undergoing a lifestyle change For at least two decades Jeff Sluman has been the Chicago area’s premier player on the Champions Tour. He still is, but no longer can he be referred to as “Hinsdale’s Jeff Sluman.’’
Sluman revealed at the Western Golf Association’s preview for the 2018 Constellation Senior Players Championship on Wednesday that he’s no longer a ...

This World Championship golfer has the speed to prove it GLENVIEW, Illinois – SpeedGolf, a sport created 14 years ago, combines a player’s golf score with his time covering 18 holes – and Jamie Young is good at it. So good, in fact, that he’s now the world champion.
Young, 52, from Kenosha, WI., won the World SpeedGolf Championship at The Glen Club on Tuesday. ...

NU coach Fletcher claims top Women’s Western award Emily Fletcher may not have been the best known of the 22 winners of the Women’s Western Golf Association’s Woman of Distinction Award, but she certainly was a popular choice at the group’s annual meeting and luncheon on Thursday at Indian Hill Club in Winnetka.
Fletcher received two standing ovations while accepting an award that was ...

Ted Bishop’s book addresses much more than his PGA impeachment It took considerable time to find the book “Unfriended: The Power Brokers, Political Correctness and Hypocrisy in Golf.’’ That’s Ted Bishop’s account of the events surrounding his controversial impeachment as president of the PGA of America. Apparently it’s most readily found as a Nook offering. At least that’s how I found it.
After getting ...

First-ever renovation worked wonders at Arlington Lakes Arlington Lakes has been an 18-hole facility operated by the Arlington Heights Park District since 1979, so it was due for its first renovation. The result, though, was far beyond most expectations when the course re-opened on July 1.
The course had been closed for 13 months to allow architect Mike Benkusky to completely ...

U.S. Open countdown is on at Erin Hills ERIN, Wisconsin – The first thing you notice is the scorecard. The official yardage for Erin Hills at the 2017 U.S. Open is whopping 7,693 yards. That may make it the longest course in the 117-year history of the U.S. Open, though U.S. Golf Association staffers on site weren’t ready to confirm that.
“But ...

Legends Tour adds Crosby, Haynie to its Hall of Fame FRENCH LICK, Ind. – Weather conditions were less than ideal when the fourth annual Legends Championship teed off Saturday on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort. A tee time adjustment, calling for play to begin off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees, was made when afternoon rains entered into the forecast.
The ...

Legends Championship has no problem going head-to-head with the Olympics FRENCH LICK, Ind. — The Ladies PGA Tour took two weeks off from tournaments to avoid conflict with the Olympic Games in Brazil, and the men’s PGA Tour greatly revised its schedule during that time period.
That wasn’t the case with The Legends Tour, the official senior circuit of the LPGA. Its biggest tournament ...

IPGA Senior Masters honors Koschmann, Benson Lake Shore’s Bob Koschmann and Itasca’s Phil Benson were honored Monday at the 24th Illinois PGA Senior Masters Championship at Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest.
Koschmann is wrapping up his 40th, and final, season at Lake Shore in Glenview. He learned of an opening at Lake Shore while working as a caddie for PGA Tour player ...

St. Andrews’ 90th anniversary celebration is a family affair This is a milestone year for one of the Chicago area’s very special golf facilities. St. Andrews is turning 90 years old, and only a handful of other golf clubs – private or public — have lasted that long.
Not only that, but St. Andrews’ road to success has been done family style. None of ...

International Crown will be a golf event like no other in Chicago area A sports event like no other will soon be hitting the Chicago area soon.
The UL International Crown is a women’s golf event – nothing so unusual about that – but it’s also a team competition with a global feel. Only the Ryder Cup, for men, and Solheim Cup, for women, fall into that category ...

Web.com Tour returns — with tourney at Ivanhoe After eight years the Web.com Tour is back. This is going to be fun.
The PGA Tour’s developmental circuit was just that when it held tournaments at Kemper Lakes in 2002 and The Glen Club from 2003 to 2008. The return event has very little to do with those. In fact, the only link ...

Getting around on a GolfBoard is different — but well worth a try SOUTHERN PINES, North Carolina – The GolfBoard wasn’t exactly a smash hit when it made its debut at the PGA Merchandise Show in 2014. Still, those who tried this means of golf course transportation that falls somewhere between a skateboard and cart generally gave it favorable reviews.
During our ongoing roving nationwide tour of golf ...

The First Tee: My grandson’s introduction to golf was much different than mine DURHAM, North Carolina — Everything that I had heard suggested The First Tee program was a most worthwhile thing, but I’d never seen the program in action until my grandson, Sterling Stewart, joined The First Tee of the Triangle for youngsters between the ages of 7-10.
Sterling, 7, had a better introduction to golf than I ...

Diversey Range has been serving Chicago golfers for over 100 years The Diversey Driving Range is a Chicago landmark, no doubt about that. There are bigger ranges around the country. Some also might be considered more beautiful, or more elaborate, but few – if any – have as much history or are as popular as this facility that has withstood the tests of time.
Diversey was built ...

Women’s golf will become very big in Chicago the next three seasons Big-time women’s golf has come to Chicago only sporadically over the years. Now that’s about to change.
Next year the UL International Crown comes to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove. In 2017 the new KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be played at Olympia Fields, and then in 2018 that same big championship will come ...

New practice area at Conway Farms dazzled BMW players, fans PGA Tour players see a lot of golf courses and, somewhat amazingly, they remember – at least in general terms – what most of them look like.
That wasn’t quite the case when the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup Playoffs gathered at Conway Farms in Lake Forest in September for the BMW Championship. ...

Nadler family has impacted Chicago golf in many ways Theirs is a success story unlike most others in the world of golf.
For starters, the Aurora-based Nadler clan has the longevity factor going. Nadler Golf Cars has been in business over 50 years and is still going strong. Through it all, it’s remained a family business that is now a third-generation operation servicing nearly ...

Hopefully a banner U.S. Am leads to USGA’s quick return to Chicago The 115th U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields couldn’t have gone much better.
The weather was great, the champion showed potential for long-term greatness and Fox Sports – new to golf broadcasting – presented Olympia Fields in a very positive light. Dave Allard, the club’s chairman for the event, said U.S. Golf Assn. officials told him ...

This golfer is not only good — he’s fast, too! Eri Crum arrived at Stanford University in 1994, the same year that Tiger Woods did. They were teammates on the school’s golf team for two years, before Woods started his legendary career as a touring pro.
Crum stayed at Stanford, earning his letter in golf his final two seasons, and now he’s still involved in ...

Who says golfers need to carry their clubs in a bag? What would be your reaction be if a playing partner arrived at the first tee with a full set of golf clubs, but no golf bag?
That’s what happened to me when long-time friend Brett Detterbeck arrived with a backpack – much like the type that high school students use to carry their books. A ...

BMW spectators will benefit most from Conway Farms changes The Western Golf Association’s premier tournament, the BMW Championship, is still nearly two months away, but the WGA showed off the improvements coming for the third tournament of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs
Tourney site Conway Farms, in Lake Forest, underwent an extensive renovation since hosting the event in 2013 and spectators — ...

Kemper Lakes is ready to `Restore the Roar’
A three-year project to renovate its bunkers is over, and Kemper Lakes is ready to “Restore the Roar.’’ The club, based in Chicago’s northwest suburb of Kildeer, wants big tournaments again, and the new looks that Libertyville architect Rick Jacobson created with the bunkers should help.
“The renovations are now complete, and it’s been a seamless ...

Sainz `excited’ midway through his rookie PGA Tour season You might think that Carlos Sainz Jr. would be down in the dumps after enduring eight missed cuts, seven of them in a row, to start his rookie season on the PGA Tour. That was certainly not the case, though, as the Elgin golfer approached the midway point of the season.
“I’m excited,’’ said Sainz during ...

Public golfers can experience a Donald Ross creation at Ravisloe I guess you can learn something every day. I thought I knew a bit about Donald Ross, the famed golf designer, but I didn’t realize he had designed only one public course in Illinois. That course is Ravisloe in Homewood, which went public when Claude Gendreau purchased the club in 2009.
Cheryl Justak, publisher of Golf ...

Medinah will restore — not renovate — this Bendelow course
For reasons that have long escaped me, Tom Bendelow is still not in the World Golf Hall of Fame. He was the course architect that, perhaps more than any other, got golf started in the United States.
That’s especially evident in the Chicago area. Bendelow’s name has been on about 800 courses that were built ...

Medinah Patriot Day outing was something special There doesn’t seem to be nearly as many golf charity events as there once was, but the Medinah Patriot Day outing certainly isn’t having any problems. In fact, after six years, it’s growing big-time.
I was among the 140 golfers that participated in Tuesday’s event on Medinah’s No. 2 course. Jim Cornelison highlighted the pre-golf ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: “The Squeeze” will be fun for golf movie-goers Phil Mickelson called the soon-to-be-released “The Squeeze’’ as “the best golf movie ever.’’ That’s a stretch when you put it beside my two favorites – the first version of “CaddieShack’’ and “The Greatest Game Ever Played.’’’
“The Squeeze,’’ however, certainly provided a lot of fun for the audience at its Chicago premier showing in Skokie ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Senior Women’s Open is finally a reality The U.S. Golf Assn. has finally committed to holding a national championship for senior women players. Though long overdue, that’s good news.
On the other hand, the first such tournament won’t be held until 2018 and there will be differences between the first U.S. Senior Women’s Open and the only other major event for senior ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: PGA Merchandise Show was an eye-opener again ORLANDO, FL. – The PGA of America has been holding its Merchandise Show for 62 years. In recent years it’s been generally overwhelming, frequently chaotic and always informative. It’s also, for many, a hint that spring – and the heart of the golf season –isn’t all that far away.
This year’s PGA Merchandise Show ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Wilson has best golf ad campaign — Seriously! ORLANDO, FL. — Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Good celebrated in 100th anniversary in 2014 and more good things could be coming down the road.
Wilson certainly has had the most entertaining TV ad campaign in golf the last few years. The latest version of the “Seriously!’’ ads, featuring Guy Johnson, made its debut on Golf Channel ...

What Jim McWethy did at Mistwood was extraordinary Given the economic climate of the last few years it’s understandable that golf course owners might be reluctant to take on expensive projects. That hasn’t been the case at Mistwood in Romeoville, however.
In the last three years owner Jim McWethy brought back Michigan architect Ray Hearn for a renovation of a course that he ...

Sainz made it to the PGA Tour — but it wasn’t easy Chicago has never been rich in PGA Tour players over at least the last three decades, but there’ll be a new one on golf’s premier circuit in the 2014-15 season. Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. earned his PGA Tour card by virtue of his play on the Web.com Tour this year.
Sainz, 28, barely made it through ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Crown sponsorship climaxes big golf week for Chicago Chicago’s golf season may be in its final days as far as 2014 goes, but you wouldn’t know it by developments over the last few days.
On the PGA Tour Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman made a final-round charge in the Shriners Hospital for Children’s Open in Las Vegas on Sunday. Making five birdies in a ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: WWGA honors two of its long-time leaders Long before there was a Ladies Professional Golf Assn. there was the Women’s Western Golf Assn. This organization has spearheaded golf for girls and women since 1901.
This week the WWGA honored two of its longstanding leaders. Susan Wagner and Audrey Peterson were presented with Woman of Distinction Awards at the WWGA’s annual meeting ...

Will new PGA Tour member Sainz defend his Chicago Open title? Sure, there’s plenty of golf to be played in the Chicago area for a few more weeks but the Chicago Open will be it as far as big-time competition goes. It begins with a pro-am on Oct. 3 and the three-day, 54-hole tournament proper tees off on Oct. 5, with everything again going on ...

At 54 Inkster’s a Legend — but she’ll still have LPGA presence WEST POINT, MS. – Juli Inkster’s biggest year in a stellar golf career came in 1999 when she won the U.S. Women’s Open, the LPGA Championship and three other tournaments while also qualifying for the Hall of Fame.
There’s nothing wrong with looking back fondly on a year like that 15 years later, and Inkster had ...

Bradleys — Pat and Keegan — play big parts in U.S. golf hopes WEST POINT, MS. – One of America’s premier golf families has a dilemma this week. In what is most likely an historical first, the family’s two most prominent golfijng members will be playing in major international team competitions at the same time.
While Keegan Bradley will be trying to help the U.S. team regain the ...

International Crown already looking ahead to Rich Harvest in 2016 As exciting as this first International Crown figures to be, the second staging in 2016 could well be even more eye-catching. It’ll be played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, IL., 46 miles west of Chicago.
Rich Harvest is a much different place than Caves Valley. The ultra-private club has only 100 members. ...

Conway Farms gets spruced up for ’15 BMW Championship It’s back to Chicago for the BMW Championship. The Western Golf Assn. will continue its policy of playing its premier event close to its home base every other year, and Conway Farms will again be the site of tourney after it leaves Cherry Hills. It’ll next be contested from Sept. 14-20 in 2015.
Conway ...

Michigan’s True North brings Carlson out of retirement HARBOR SPRINGS, MI. – Terry Carlson thought his working life was done after being a head golf professional in the Chicago area for 26 years and then getting a big sendoff into retirement at a prestigious club in Arizona.
Forty years as a club professional plus one as a player on the Champions Tour seemed ...

A Q&A with USGA’s Tom O’Toole The U.S. Golf Assn. is based in Far Hills, N.J., and its leaders don’t get to Chicago all that much. That’s why Tom O’Toole’s recent stopover offered a good opportunity to find out what’s new with golf’s ruling body in the United States.
O’Toole, the USGA president, is from St. Louis. He’s been ...

Legends do their part to help children’s hospital FRENCH LICK, Ind. — Braden Tamosaitis got to roll some putts on the Pete Dye Course on Saturday and also meet many of the players competing in the second round of the LPGA Legends Championship.
Braden, age 9, enjoyed the experience thoroughly and the players he touched most certainly did, as well.
“He’s a special little ...

Leukemia survivor was a big hit at Legends event Ashtyn Brown’s final swing at the LPGA Legends Championship may not have produced the desired result, but there’s no doubt she was the star of the show.
As the ambassador for Riley Children’s Hospital at IU Health, Ashtyn was the honorary starter for the 54-hole tournament on Friday. She hooked her tee shot, just a ...

Blalock sees a bright future for LPGA Legends Tour FRENCH LICK, Ind. — Jane Blalock and Nancy Lopez will be inducted into the LPGA Legends Hall of Fame on Thursday night. They’ll also oversee ribbon-cutting at the circuit’s new Hall of Fame at the West Baden Springs Hotel.
The big night precedes Friday’s start to the 54-hole LPGA Legends Championship on the spectacular Pete ...

Second International Crown, at Rich Harvest, should be bigger than the first The LPGA’s first International Crown competition ended less than a week ago and already preparations are well underway for the second staging, in July of 2016 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.
Rich Harvest owner Jerry Rich, LPGA star Anna Nordquist from Sweden and LPGA commissioner Mike Whan (left to right) hosted a Launch ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Asian Watch Party was vital for International Crown’s future The first International Crown concludes Sunday at Caves Valley, in Owings Mills, Md., but a Saturday gathering that wasn’t held anywhere near the course will have a more direct bearing on how the event plays out at Rich Harvest Farms in 2016.
Jerry Rich, in the forefront during the Crown’s creation, hosted a Watch Party ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Woods won’t have White Eagle record for long Sooner rather than later one of Tiger Woods’ longest-standing course records will be broken. I suspect it won’t take long. Curtis Malm just needs to find someone willing to play the championship tees with him at White Eagle Golf Club.
No one plays back there these days on White Eagle’s Red-White rotation of nines ...

JDC may have had humble beginnings — but look at PGA Tour stop now! The John Deere Classic wasn’t always the John Deere Classic. Illinois’ only visit from the PGA Tour in 2014 had a modest beginning. For starters, it was called the Quad Cities Open and was only a satellite event on the circuit in 1971.
That first event was played on 6501-yard Crow Valley Country Club in ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Tweaking is almost done at Erin Hills Erin Hills has undergone more than its share of tweaks in its brief history, but interest in the layout 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee has never wavered. In fact, enthusiasm for the course has grown with each of the changes made since the opening in 2006.
It’s good news, though, that the alterations are just about ...

MISSION HILLS: Thoughts about my walk down memory lane I found this interesting. My introduction to golf came at age 11 when my mother took me to Mission Hills, then a 27-hole public facility in Northbrook, IL., along with another mother and her son, who was about my age. We still lived on the northwest side of Chicago then and didn’t move to ...

U.S. Senior Open hopefuls head to Village Links of Glen Ellyn The Champions Tour players didn’t all leave town after the Encompass Championship concluded. Many in Sunday’s field stayed around for Monday’s sectional qualifying round for the U.S. Senior Open at Village Links of Glen Ellyn.
Ninety players will battle for six spots in the Senior Open proper, to be held at Oak Tree in Edmond, Okla., ...

Here’s five players well worth watching at Encompass tourney The 12th event on the Champions Tour’s 2014 schedule, the $1.8 million Encompass Championship, begins its 54-hole run on Friday at North Shore Country Club in Glenview.
Last of the event’s three pro-ams is on tap for Thursday and the first two rounds of the 54-hole tourney proper will have a tournament within a tournament, with ...

Was scheduling back-to-back Opens at Pinehurst No. 2 a good idea? For American golfers June is the biggest month of the year. It’s U.S. Open time, and this June will be different than all the others. This time you need a primer to know what will be going on, so here goes:
The men’s U.S. Open dates back to 1895 and the U.S. Women’s Open to ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Getting No. 1 seed gives U.S. boost for International Crown By Len Ziehm
There’s a drawback to designating one prime superstar in a sport. That policy can work to the detriment of others, and that’s what happened this week, when Tiger Woods announced he wouldn’t play in this year’s Masters. In this case the victim was the LPGA, which had its own big news to ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: International Crown trophy will be impressive DAYTONA BEACH, FL. – I’ll let you in on a secret. The trophy that will go to the winner of the LPGA’s biggest-ever event will be one of the most impressive in all of sports.
I received a sneak preview of the prize that the players in the new International Crown event will play for ...

LinksVideo partnership gives LZOG a new dimension The lenziehmongolf.com website is proud to announce a sixth partnership agreement – and this one is much different than the other five.
Dave “Links’’ Lockhart (left), who has worked for over 20 years in the golf media business and created three award-winning golf TV shows, is bringing his LinksVideo.net to a golf promotional effort that includes ...

SentryWorld’s renovation will trigger a big golf year in Wisconsin We Illinois golf fanatics had best disregard the state line boundaries. Our neighbor to the north, Wisconsin, isn’t far away – no matter where you live in Illinois – and that’s where the action is these days. It’d be a shame not to enjoy it to the fullest.
For whatever reason, golf progress in Illinois ...

PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Tour Edge is quick to unveil its latest Exotics ORLANDO, FL. – It’s become a tradition now. For the ninth straight year David Glod, president of Batavia-based Tour Edge, has gotten a jump on his club manufacturing rivals at the massive 61st annual PGA Merchandise Show.
The biggest show in golf begins a three-day run at the Orange County Convention Center on Wednesday with ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: LPGA Legends deserve a U.S. Women’s Senior Open The LPGA Legends Tour announced its schedule for 2014 last week, and it’s good one. This circuit for players 45 and over continued its slow but steady growth and created more attractive dates for its biggest championship.
Still, the circuit has a glaring absence on the slate for its 14th season. The Legends – ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Sainz, Pope, India earn Web.com Tour spots By Len Ziehm
The Chicago area will have three new players competing on a major pro golf tour in 2014. Carlos Sainz Jr., Andy Pope and Vince India all advanced through the rigorous Web.com Tour qualifying school this week.
With the PGA Tour revamping its qualifying procedure, its satellite Web.com circuit claimed the survivors of ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New Concession Cup will bring back good memories BRADENTON, FL. – The Ryder Cup matches have produced plenty of drama over the years, but one of the most memorable events in the competition didn’t involve anyone hitting a shot.
It came in 1969 at England’s Royal Birkdale, in the final singles match between American Jack Nicklaus and England’s Tony Jacklin. Nicklaus conceded a two-foot ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Rich sees long run for International Crown — and at his course Jerry Rich’s dream took its first big step towards reality immediately after the 2013 LPGA season concluded Sunday with Shanshan Feng’s victory in the CME Group Titleholders tourney at Tiburon in Naples, FL.
That was the last event in which countries could earn points for participation in next year’s inaugural International Crown event. Rich (pictured below) ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Malm takes his talents to White Eagle The best player in the Illinois section of the PGA is moving.
Curtis Malm, the IPGA Player-of-the-Year in 2012 and 2013 while an assistant professional at St. Charles Country Club, has moved to White Eagle in Naperville as the head professional.
Malm, who spent five seasons at St. Charles, won the Illinois Open as an amateur in ...

Getting to Texas was a tough ride for Ghim The top high school golfers from across the country made their college commitments this week in the NCAA’s early signing period. One of them earned his scholarship the hard way.
Doug Ghim, an Arlington Heights resident and senior at Buffalo Grove, landed a scholarship to traditional collegiate powerhouse Texas even though he didn’t play a ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Streelman will be part of U.S. effort in World Cup The team of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland gave the U.S. its first victory in 11 years in the last staging of the World Cup of Golf. Now Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman will be part of the U.S. title defense.
The World Cup, first played in 1953, is a two-man team competition with players chosen off ...

Goss, Mory develop unique Academy for juniors Pat Goss and Jeff Mory, both long prominent in Chicago golf, are busy guys.
Goss is director of golf at Northwestern, head coach of the NU men’s team and the swing coach of Luke Donald. Mory is director of golf at Conway Farms, the Lake Forest course that includes Donald among its members. It will ...

Suttie leaves Cog Hill, will teach at Mistwood Owner Jim McWethy has made still another enhancement to his Mistwood golf club, in Romeoville, IL.
McWethy has announced that Dr. Jim Suttie has joined the teaching staff that will work out of Mistwood’s Performance Center.
Suttie said that the chance to work in the new state-of-the-art facility led to him ending his long relationship with Cog ...

LZOG adds a fifth partner — Brian Weis’ GolfTrips and GolfWisconsin Lenziehmongolf.com is delighted to announce another partnership agreement, this one with veteran Wisconsin golf writer Brian Weis.
Weis is publisher of GolfTrips.com – a network of golf travel and directory sites that include
GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfers.com and GolfAlabama.com.
His venture into golf began in 2004 with the launching of GolfWisconsin.com. Its success spurred the creation of a network ...

Add Palmer Cup to the big events Jerry Rich is bringing to Sugar Grove Big golf events used to be commonplace in Chicago. Now, not so much.
No U.S. Opens or PGA Championships are scheduled in these parts. The PGA Tour comes only every other year, for the BMW Championship. The LPGA and Buy.com Tour no longer make annual stops here. Only the Champions Tour, with its new ...

Johnson’s JDC title defense is almost as captivating as Stricker’s was last year Clair Peterson, tournament director for the John Deere Classic, has felt blessed – and with good reason.
From 2009-2011 he had a very popular champion whose presence enhanced the interest in the JDC. Steve Stricker, from nearby Madison, Wis., tried to become only the fifth golfer in 140 years to win a major professional tournament ...

Encompass outing is memorable with putter announcement looming Officials for the Encompass Championship, which brings golf’s Champions Tour back to Chicago for the first time in 12 years next month, held their kickoff event on Monday at North Shore Country Club in Glenview.
They announced the latest player commitments for the June 17-23 event included 16 major championships winners – Mark Calcavecchia, Ben ...

CDGA’s date changes will streamline Chicago golf calendar There are two major changes coming to amateur golf in the Chicago area for 2013. Both involve scheduling, and both represent improvements from the way things were.
For starters, the Chicago District Golf Assn. made one major schedule change, as well as a few others. The big one has the men’s 83rd Illinois State ...

Points should be tired, Streelman well-rest for the Masters Luke Donald is just one of three Illinois players in their year’s Masters field. The other two – Kevin Streelman and D.A. Points – are in the field for the first time since making their tournament debuts in 2011.
Streelman (75-74) and Points (72-76) both failed to survive the 36-hole cut in their Masters debuts, ...

NOTES: Mom’s putter revived Points’ career Winfield’s Kevin Streelman wasn’t the only Illinois golfer earning a trip to the Masters in March. D.A. Points, the former University of Illinois golfer, also did it by winning the Shell Houston Open last Sunday.
Like Streelman, Points will be making his second Masters appearance next week; both missed the cut in 2011. Unlike ...

KICKOFF AT CANTIGNY: Daily Herald columns will start April 3 The Daily Herald joined forces with the staff of the Cantigny Golf Academy in Wheaton to celebrate the start of another Chicago golf season.
Following introductions by Eileen Brown, the Herald’s director of Innovation and Audience Development, over 80 Daily Herald Total Access subscribers received a tour of the Academy from head professional Patrick Lynch and ...

Chicago golf publication takes on a new/old name You might notice there’s a new, old golf publication making its debut at the 30th Chicago Golf Show. Sound confusing? Let me explain.
Chicago Area Golf was the publication that provided coverage of the Chicago golf scene the last three years. Starting with this issue the publication that will do the same job ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Chicago Golf Show is ready to turn 30 The Chicago Golf Show celebrates its 30th anniversary beginning on Friday, and some significance announcements will be made as part of the festivities.
For one thing, the Chicago Open will be revived again, this time as a fundraiser for the Illinois Junior Golf Association. And Val Russell, publisher of the golf newspaper called Chicago Area ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: A fitting honor for Bill Ogden A golf professional’s job was much different when Bill Ogden ran the shop at North Shore Country Club. Ogden not only could compete at the highest level, but he also was a master at handling the detail work that was required on the job.
The Chicago area never has had a club pro as widely successful ...

PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: LPGA introduces International Crown event ORLANDO, FL. – The Ladies PGA Tour is returning to Chicago – but it won’t be until 2016. And then it will be for the staging of an extraordinary new team event.
Mike Whan, the LPGA commissioner, highlighted the first day of the 60th PGA Merchandise Show by announcing the arrival of the International Crown event. ...

PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Tour Edge introduces variable fit driver ORLANDO, FL. – The 60th annual PGA Merchandise Show teed off with a massive Demo Day on Wednesday but Chicago club manufacturer Tour Edge got a jump on the opposition a day early.
The Batavia-based company, in its eighth annual Multi-Manufacturers Media Day outing at the Legacy Club, introduced its first variable-fit driver. It was ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: It’s Show-time for WGA; IPGA moves Players Championship The Chicago Golf Show will get a big boost for its 30th anniversary staging next month.
Rarely has the show, to be held Feb. 22-24 at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, had a presenting sponsor. The last time the Show was so blessed was in 2009, when South Carolina golf mecca Myrtle Beach took the ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New pros for Medinah, Exmoor; 50th anniversary for Eskimo Open IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New pros for Medinah, Exmoor; Eskimo celebrates 50th anniversary
Mike Scully ended a 10-year stint as Medinah Country Club’s director of golf as soon as the Ryder Cup ended. Now the club has selected his replacement.
Marty DeAngelo will take over Scullly’s former position on Jan. 21. Like Scully he comes ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: `King of Clubs’ uncovers piece of Chicago golf history After reading “King of Clubs: The Great Golf Marathon of 1938’’ I felt there was a message to be delivered about how bad slow play has gotten.
Virginia-based sports writing veteran Jim Ducibella recounts the story of J. Smith Ferebee, a Chicago stockbroker and Olympia Fields Country Club member who was briefly in the national spotlight ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Meierdierks, Jeray Q-School successes are in sharp contrast Rarely does a Chicago golfer get through a qualifying school for any of the professional tours. This year, though, two did – and their roads to success couldn’t be much more different.
Wilmette’s Eric Meierdierks, a 27-year old with only one PGA start to his credit, made it all the way to the PGA Tour ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Meierdierks, Langley are survivors at PGA’s Q-School PGA Tour qualifying school hasn’t been kind to the few Illinois golfers who have tried it over the years, but that wasn’t the case this week.
Eric Meierdierks, the 2010 Illinois Open champion from Wilmette, and Scott Langley, the 2010 NCAA champion for the University of Illinois, both earned their PGA Tour cards during the six-round ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Mierdierks is on the brink of something big Anybody who follows the golf scene in Illinois should tune in to what happens the next few days in the final stage of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School at PGA West in California.
Wilmette’s Eric Mierdierks, winner of the 2010 Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods and runnerup (in a playoff) to Chicago’s Max Scodro at The ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Changes are coming among Illinois club pros There wasn’t much movement in Chicago’s club professional ranks the past few years, but that’s not the case now. Already five well-established head pros have announced plans to move on.
The move creating the most ripple effect was Mike Scully’s departure from Medinah immediate after the Ryder Cup. He is now in charge at Desert ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New bunkers have changed Kemper Illinois PGA will have a different challenge if the section decides to keep its first major tourney of 2013 at Kemper Lakes.
The club, which hosted the 1989 PGA Championship, the 1992 U.S. Women’s Amateur and several Champions Tour stops before it became a private venue in 2009, has begun a renovation project.
Taking small steps ...

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: A new column to help golfers cope with winter weather I may have felt that a 125-pound 14-year old would have to be teeing it up in the Masters before there was a need for me to write a golf column for primarily Midwest readers in the cold weather months.
Oops, now there is such a rare golfer– or at least there will be in another ...

Western golf groups honor two legends The Western Golf Assn. and the Women’s Western Golf Assn., now in partnership, are honoring two of the greats of the game.
The WWGA named Mickey Wright this year’s Woman of Distinction honoree at a luncheon on Thursday at Lake Shore Country Club in Glencoe. The award was first passed out in 1994 when another ...

Seve and Jose Maria was the best Ryder Cup pairing ever The first big thing that Jose Maria Olazabal, the European Ryder Cup captain, did for team was get his players some special golf bags. All 12 of them arrived at the first tee this week at Medinah with bags emblazoned with the iconic silhouette depicting the late Seve Ballesteros’ British Open title in 1984.
That silhouette ...

JUST MY OPINION: Chicago’s rich golf history is second to none Go ahead, I dare you! Show me one American city that has a richer golf history than Chicago. I don’t think you can do it.
Of course, as a golf writer here for over 40 years, I may be prejudiced. Still, I can’t think of another city with such a broad background of action on the ...

Donald’s dilemma: local golf hero playing for the wrong team It’s hard to imagine Luke Donald drawing hecklers when the 39th Ryder Cup matches tee off on Friday at Medinah Country Club. But it could happen.
A former NCAA champion for Northwestern, Donald has been a class act since establishing residence in Chicago 15 years ago. He married a Chicago woman, kept his NU coach ...

Roger Warren is back home — as U.S. Junior Ryder Cup captain Roger Warren got his start in golf while living in the Chicago area. He went on to big things in the game, and now he’s back.
Warren will captain the U.S. in the Junior Ryder Cup competition, which begins at 5 p.m. on Sunday with opening ceremonies at Olympia Fields Country Club. After two days ...

Expanding LPGA Legends Tour will soon have biggest-ever event, Hall of Fame FRENCH LICK, Ind. – For 11 years Jane Blalock has tried to get a senior tour going for the veterans or retirees on the Ladies PGA Tour. Now she’s apparently done it.
Blalock, the LPGA’s rookie-of-the-year in 1970 and a 27-time winner on the circuit, has made the LPGA Legends Tour her special project. She’s ...

RYDER CUP: Junior players will play a big part in the festivities The upcoming Ryder Cup is much more than a three-day golf competition between the top touring professionals from the United States and Europe. It also encompasses a load of junior events that the PGA of America hopes will help grow the sport. Medinah Country Club will host some – but not all – of them.
Most ...

The wait for the Ryder Cup is almost over It’s getting close now. The biggest event in Chicago’s rich golf history tees off at Medinah Country Club on Sept. 28, but plenty will be going on before then. September will be a month like no other for golf excitement in Chicago.
Medinah knows what big-time golf is all about, having been the site of ...

Champions Tour stars applaud Augusta National’s change Four prominent members of golf’s Champions Tour learned of Augusta National’s decision to admit two women as members just as they were about to announce a new tournament coming to Chicago.
All were delighted that the annual site of the Masters tournament was ending its all-male membership policy, and at least one wasn’t even surprised.
“I ...

Champions Tour is finally returning to Chicago Jeff Sluman showed up at Chicago’s East Bank Club on Monday for the announcement of the return of golf’s Champions Tour to Chicago. The 50-and-over circuit will compete in the $1.8 million Encompass Championship at North Shore Country Club in Glenview next June 17-23.
But, first things first. Long before the circuit’s return to Chicago for ...

Roger Warren will be back for Junior Ryder Cup at Olympia Fields The first in a long line of upcoming Ryder Cup announcements is coming up on Aug. 7. That’s when Roger Warren will announce the six boys and six girls on the U.S. team for the Junior Ryder Cup.
This is just one of many events surrounding the big show coming to Medinah Sept. 25-30. The PGA ...

Our `Big Three’ is primed for two weeks of big-time golf The “Big Three’’ was born on Jan. 2, 2012, when three Chicago-based golf websites joined forces to provide different perspectives on the game we love.
While we have worked together on an informal basis the past six months, the impact of that joint affiliation will become more clearly evident in the next two weeks as ...

Odyssey’s a place for more than just fun golf TINLEY PARK, IL. – At first it seemed a walk down memory lane.
I hadn’t been back to the Odyssey Country Club in Chicago’s south suburbs since 1997 – the third and final year the course was used as the site of the Illinois Women’s Open championship. Odyssey got that tournament, the state’s most prestigious for ...

Another partner joins LZOG: Hacker’s Central Len Ziehm on Golf is today announcing a fourth partnership agreement, this one with the website Hacker’s Central. Based in Minneapolis, this site provides information and rates courses in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Nevada and Illinois.
For starters, LZOG will contribute Travel Destination blog-type pieces as well as occasional news items relating ...

PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Nicklaus says golf is “at a crossroads” ORLANDO, FL. — The biggest show in golf started on a sobering note Thursday, and it was offered by the game’s greatest player.
Jack Nicklaus gave the keynote address as the 59th PGA Merchandise Show opened its three-day run at the Orange County Convention Center. In it he voiced concerns about the game’s future, then expanded ...

PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Demo Day delights ORLANDO, FL. — Getting to the Demo Day kickoff of the 59th PGA Merchandise Show wasn’t easy. There were traffic jams and long lines at the check-in points — even when the gates opened at the Orange County National Golf Center.
The Demo Day was closed to the public and required a 45-minute shuttle bus ride ...

PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW PREVIEW: Wilson is going belly-up
ORLANDO, FL. — Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods may have the richest heritage in golf. More major championships have been won by players using the company’s irons than any other, the majors number won now at 62 and counting.
Still, Wilson won’t be stuck in its past at this week’s 59th annual PGA Merchandise Show. Among its ...

THIS `Big Three’ is ready for action This “Big Three” may not be anything like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, but we feel we can make a positive impact on golf — especially in the Chicago area.
We are three golf reporters with a combined 102 years of experience covering the sport we love. We’re kicking off 2012 by announcing ...

JUST MY OPINION: Luke Donald has topped them all On Sunday Luke Donald finished third in the Dubai World Championship and became the first golfer to win money titles on both the U.S. and European PIA Tours while holding membership in both.
This is something for the history books, and the feat hasn’t gotten the attention it should have from the sports media both in ...

Tourney sites are intriguing for CDGA, WGA
The Chicago District Golf Assn. and Western Golf Assn. have made major announcements in their tournament sites just a few days apart.
In announcing its tournament slate for 2012 the CDGA revealed that Cantigny, the 27-hole public layout in Wheaton, will host the concluding four-day match play portion of the CDGA Amateur. That’s significant because the ...

Ryder Cup enthusiasm builds Sure, Medinah’s week to host the 39th Ryder Cup is still a year away. Still, the task of getting ready for the biggest team event in golf is a major undertaking.
Michael Belot, the tournament director, and five staffers have been working feverishly from Medinah and report making great progress. Belot should know, becuase he is ...

WGA: Why BMW Is Moving The Western Golf Association’s decision to move the BMW Championship out of Chicago again wasn’t a surprise. After all, the event did very well at Bellerive in St. Louis in 2008 and the PGA Tour players’ response to Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course during the 2010 tournament was less than enthusiastic.
Still, going to Cherry Hills in ...

Blakeman is back in U.S. Open Just qualifying for the U.S. Open is a big deal. This year 8,300 tried, and only 156 will tee off in the first round on Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
One of them will be Bennett Blakeman, who isn’t exactly a household name in golf circles yet — but he is a U.S. ...

Injury mars Affrunti’s rookie PGA season Surviving a rookie season on the PGA Tour is hard enough, but for Crystal Lake’s Joe Affrunti went through a nightmare in his first four months on golf’s premier circuit.
Affrunti qualified for his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list last season, but that status didn’t assure ...

Beyond the Fairways: Rich Flores’ road to recovery Rich Flores wanted to be a touring golf pro, and was –for awhile. He even played in a couple PGA Tour events in the early 1980s.
Flores’ calling, though, proved to be in teaching the game. He did that very well as director of instruction at both Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles and Mill Creek ...

Ryder Cup: Love Visits Medinah Davis Love III’s selection as the 27th U.S. Ryder Cup captain on Thursday was no surprise, but he wasn’t ready for all the questions he faced during his introduction at Medinah Country Club.
Medinah, which has already hosted three U.S. Opens as well as the PGA Championships of 1999 and 2006, will be the site of ...

Mistwood: McWethy’s Renovation Is Underway Jim McWethy’s decision to completely revamp his Mistwood golf course in Romeoville, IL. wasn’t an easy one. Despite these trying economic times, McWethy opted to renovate what was already a respected course, add a spiffy new learning center and build a new clubhouse. He chooses not to discuss the cost involved but, needless to say, ...

PGA: Donald Joins Chicago Win Circle First it was Elmhurst’s Mark Wilson winning two of the first three full-field events of the PGA Tour season. Then it was University of Illinois alum D.A. Points capturing the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Now still another local golfer has come to the forefront.
Luke Donald, who graduated from Northwestern in 1999 and has maintained ...

JDC Preview: Stage Is Set For Stricker Three-Peat Rarely does a golfer have a chance to make history — really significant history — in a specific tournament. Steve Stricker has that opportunity when the John Deere Classic comes to TPC at John Deere Run in Silvis.
Stricker won the JDC in 2009 and 2010. Only 20 players in the history of the PGA Tour ...

Good Things Started With Wilson Could Illinois suddenly be emerging as a hotbed for PGA Tour players? That seems unlikely, but look what happened in the first few weeks of the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour seasons.
Mark Wilson, an Elmhurst resident, won the Sony Open in Hawaii in the PGA Tour’s first full-field tournament of 2011, then captured the ...

Western Amateur: A Peek At The Future? Now it’s North Shore’s turn.
The Western Golf Assn. is now in the third year of its new policy of playing its Western Amateur championship at Chicago courses. After a 28-year run at Michigan’s Point O’ Woods the WGA took the Western Am to Conway Farms, in Lake Forest , in 2009 and Skokie, in Glencoe, ...